EEA application - Help needed, thank you in advance

[mrsadeyemi]

Hi All,


My fiance was refused a student visa in 2011 (and might have incurred a ban) and we decided to settle down in his native Nigeria instead.

I decided to relocate from London to Lagos, Nigeria in Dec 2011, and we have been living together since I came to Nigeria.

We got married in June 2012 in Lagos.

I would now like us to have the freedom of movement as a family, and thus I was advised that we should apply for EEA permit.

Kindly advice me on the supporting documents we must send together with the VAF5 form. Since we are living together, and have done so even prior to getting maried, do we need to send pictures of our wedding, together with facebook/phone calls and chats, confirming our relationship over the years?

Much appreciated, thank you in advance for your help!

Mrs Adeyemi

[Obie]

what is the nationality of the sponsor?

[mrsadeyemi]

I am British citizen and my husband is Nigerian.

Thanks

[Obie]

Well you not qualify for EEA family permit, as you are not an EEA national other than British.

You will need to apply under the immigration rules and show you are earning 18,600 a year and have sufficient accommodation for your husband.

[mrsadeyemi]

It is confusing.. But thank you for clarifying this!
I actually have dual nationality. I have both Polish and British passports.

I left the UK in 2011 on a gross salary of GBP 53,000 - i have a letter from my then Employer Royal Bank of Canada, confirming this.

However I am currently living in Nigeria and have been working here since.

What will be the best approach in order for my husband to be able to work and travel free in Europe? Can we still apply for EEA?

Thank you in advance.

[mrsadeyemi]

Hi Obie,


Have you come across situations like ours before?
I really am not sure which route to take.

Thanks in advance.

[mrsadeyemi]

I found the below info from the UKBA website rather confusing:

"Although the UK is a member of the EEA, a non-EEA family member of a British citizen should not generally come to the UK using an EEA family permit. However, a non-EEA family member of a British citizen living abroad can apply for an EEA family permit to join the British citizen on their return to the UK if:
the British citizen has been living in an EEA member state as a worker or self-employed person; and
the family member, if they are the British citizen's spouse or civil partner, has been living together with the British citizen in the EEA country."

What if the British citizen has been living in a country that is not a member of the EEA, however he is still returning to the UK. Does this mean my husband can not join me?


Please help!

[Obie]

Mrs Adeyemi, you could have applied for an EEA family permit for your husband, but the UK has amended the EEA regulation, to exclude nationals who hold the nationality of an EEA state to benefit from the regulations, if they also hold a British Citizenship status .

The implication of this is that your husband may not be able to secure an EEA family permit.

If you had a PR issued to you, you could put up a fight, that your PR is valid, and was issued in accordance with the EEA regulation, that you had not been out of the UK for 2 years since you acquired it.

This may require a bit of fight though.

What was the nature of the ban? if you can show you qualify for EEA family permit, the ban will not be material.

[mrsadeyemi]

Hi Obie,

Thanks for getting back to me.

In 2011, my husband (we were only engaged at the time) applied for a student visa for the UK. He met all the required criteria and acquired the max 40 out of 40 points, had paid deposit and had required maintenance funds and remainder of school fees.

However, someone advised him to use an agent to prepare his documents. As my husband is not very good with paperwork etc, he gladly paid an upfront fee to Mr Peters (the so called agent who was recommended by a successful student visa friend of ours).
Mr Peters filled in the forms and gathered most of the supporting documents - my husband gave him banks statements, letters from work (DHL International) etc etc..

On submission of the visa application, my husband submitted everything that the agent had prepared for him, without checking all documents (I wish i was there!).
Within that set of docs, there was a bank statement that wasn't his - we saw it later after his visa was refused and the documents returned. The agent has prepared a bank statement showing extremely high income and overall bank balance!!! And whats more is that my husband's had enough funds in his OWN bank account to support his application!
To cut the long story short, Mr Peters is no where to be found. We even engaged the police force - the guy has disappeared.
My husband lost the Uni deposit money of £4,000 and we decided it wasn't meant to be and moved on.
I think he might have incurred a ban as the refusal said they could not verify this particular bank statement.


So following that, we decided to settle in Nigeria instead. Prior to leaving the UK, I was granted British citizenship and passport on naturalization basis, hence my dual citizenship.

[Obie]

Sorry to hear about your husbands predicament MrsAdeyemi. If your husband was a victim of fraud, then this should not be held against him. A ban under 320(7A) will be wholly unjust.

The problem is, you have left the UK to settle with him in Nigeria, therefore i believe you may not be able to meet the 18600 requirement, as you have given up your job, if i understand correctly.

You husband should have stayed and get married to you before going to Nigeria in my view.

Did you get a PR document before applying for Naturalisation.

You could apply for an EEA family permit, and see how it goes, and pick a fight with them, if they reject it on the basis of your British Citizenship status.

I am of the view that your case falls outside the scope of McCarthy, entirely.

[mrsadeyemi]

You have been most helpful, Obie.

I am currently employed in Nigeria and my income after tax is well above 18,600 GBP, however I am not sure if this counts as obviously if I am moving to UK with my husband, I will have to quit my job in Nigeria and find another one in UK.

By PR, do you mean PR for UK or PR for Nigeria?

[Obie]

By PR, i meant Permanent Residence.

MrsAdeyemi, i suppose as an A8 national, you must have gone through the process of applying for WRC ( Workers Registration Certificate), then a Registration Certificate. The last one before Naturalisation is the Permanent Registration Certificate.

Have you got this.

In any event, i will suggest you apply for the EEA family Permit with your polish passport, and see how this goes.

Best of luck.

[Jolia]

Hello everyone
I am a family member of an eea citizen and was granted 5years since 2013. My fiance lives in Cameroon and we want to get maried in 2017 in Cameroon. First i would like to know if that is possible please and also if he will be able to apply to come to the UK.
Thank you